lunes, 26 de noviembre de 2018

The link between obesity and pediatric asthma - STAT

Good morning, and happy Monday! Andrew Joseph here filling in for Megan for the week. You can reach me at andrew.joseph@statnews.com.

The link between obesity and pediatric asthma

For the first time, researchers have established an estimate for how many cases of pediatric asthma are attributable to obesity. In a study published this morning in Pediatrics, experts reviewed asthma incidence rates from more than half a million children, half of whom had healthy weight and half whom were overweight or obese. They found that about a quarter of new asthma cases in children with obesity are tied to obesity, and that 10 percent of all cases would be precluded if not for children being overweight or obese. Experts have already known that obesity is estimated to lead to 250,000 new cases of adult asthma each year.

Being Overweight or Obese and the Development of Asthma

Jason E. Lang, H. Timothy Bunnell, Md Jobayer Hossain, Tim Wysocki, John J. Lima, Terri H. Finkel, Leonard Bacharier, Amanda Dempsey, Lisa Sarzynski, Matthew Test, Christopher B. Forrest

Download PDF

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Adult obesity is linked to asthma cases and is estimated to lead to 250 000 new cases yearly. Similar incidence and attributable risk (AR) estimates have not been developed for children. We sought to describe the relationship between overweight and obesity and incident asthma in childhood and quantify AR statistics in the United States for overweight and obesity on pediatric asthma.

METHODS: The PEDSnet clinical data research network was used to conduct a retrospective cohort study (January 2009–December 2015) to compare asthma incidence among overweight and/or obese versus healthy weight 2- to 17-year-old children. Asthma incidence was defined as ≥2 encounters with a diagnosis of asthma and ≥1 asthma controller prescription. Stricter diagnostic criteria involved confirmation by spirometry. We used multivariable Poisson regression analyses to estimate incident asthma rates and risk ratios and accepted formulas for ARs.

RESULTS: Data from 507 496 children and 19 581 972 encounters were included. The mean participant observation period was 4 years. The adjusted risk for incident asthma was increased among children who were overweight (relative risk [RR]: 1.17; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.10–1.25) and obese (RR: 1.26; 95% CI: 1.18–1.34). The adjusted risk for spirometry-confirmed asthma was increased among children with obesity (RR: 1.29; 95% CI: 1.16–1.42). An estimated 23% to 27% of new asthma cases in children with obesity is directly attributable to obesity. In the absence of overweight and obesity, 10% of all cases of asthma would be avoided.

CONCLUSIONS: Obesity is a major preventable risk factor for pediatric asthma.